Discuss all things Ghostbusters here, unless they would be better suited in one of the few forums below.
#4963719
Years ago, when I handled a prop replica for the first time to take a picture at a convention, I thought about how uncomfortable the neutrona wand was to hold. Today I got the Hasbro neutrona wand, and after playing a bit with it, I got to ponder about its ergonomics again.

- The handle for the right hand is on the back left side of the wand. The handle for the left hand is on the front right side of the wand. This means that the left arm has to overextend and go all the way to the right of the body if a user wants to shoot straight.

- The position of the Intensify button, on the left side of the handle, means that the user must extend his right thumb over the handle, pressing on it with the thumb abductor muscle and causing carpal tunnel distress (this actually happened to me, few minutes of testing all functions and my thumb muscles were sore).

- The green lever to extend the gun tip is even worse. Again, you have to extend your right thumb over the handle, and this time, you also need to tilt the back of your hand upward to reach it.

- The cylinder on the front left side of the gun pokes into your left wrist, and you need to extend your left thumb over the handle to reach the mode selection button.

Could it be that all these details were intentionally selected by the prop designers during the production of the first movie, to make the wand look as dangerous and cumbersome as possible?

In addition, I also looked at myself at the mirror while holding the wand right-handed (like in the movies) and left-handed.

- With the right-handed grip, the left shoulder is thrust forward and the left bicep is flexed. This makes for a more badass pose, like when gangsters in movies grip their pistols horizontally to accentuate the shape of the fist. In both cases, the pose looks impressive, but would be absolute hell to use in real life.

- With the left-handed grip, the resulting pose doesn't look as badass, but it feels generally more comfortable. Every control is where it feels natural to use; in all cases (the two buttons and the green lever) you straighten your thumb in order to press it, which expands the carpal tunnel and actually alleviates symptoms. The hands, arms and wrists don't bump against anything. The arms are closer to the midline of the body. If the wand was a real weapon, this would result in better handling and control, but of course, being ideally attached to the right side of a proton pack, it couldn't be used with that grip.

So, what do you think? Was that design intentional?
ccv66 liked this
#4963850
I honestly don't know that it was intended to be a joke. It's fun to think about these things but as we've learned with debate regarding the pack buttons, lights, and sequences, not much thought went into it. So I'm inclined to say that the only thought given was, "Let's make something that looks hi-tech but also like 3 dudes threw this together with little resources."
But your right, it isn't the most comfortable to use.
#4963858
I have Matty, Hasbro and an aluminum thrower. Never thought it was uncomfortable. Everything feels like 2nd nature. Maybe your hands aren't big enough? All the guys are about 6'2". Definitely built for bigger guys. In one of the videos they added a hidden second button for the actress that played Phoebe because her thumb wasn't long enough

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